Antyesthi SamskaraBefore we get on with the last rites, let us look into how death is looked upon by the Hindus. It should be realized that Death is the only certainty in life. Most people are afraid of death. Hindus tried to understand the mystery of death and have done a lot of work towards this end. After all this is the end of the journey of life. But another journey is about to start. If there is strong desire to fulfill unfulfilled desires, the soul will take another birth, the Samskara being the driving force. If one has gone beyond desires then the soul is freed at this time and is not bound by the laws of Karma. The person has achieved a zero balance and has no driving force to bring him back. Such a person has achieved what is called as Moksha, Nirvana or Enlightenment.

Thus, the journey after death can be two fold, one is the path of return and the other is path of no return. This makes the whole journey of life all the more interesting. In a way, the whole journey of life is a preparation to which type of death do you want to achieve. Most people do not want to discuss Death. You decide whether or not you go on to the journey from life to life or from life to eternity.

What then is the art of dying? How can you influence the outcome after death? These are questions that Hindus have tried to answer. One described technique about the art of dying is to develop your consciousness to the level that you could go into the death with a total awareness. This has to be understood well. Most of us become unconscious before the death comes. The death comes in sleep or in coma. You are never able to face the death as it is. Meditation is one technique which develops the awareness and the courage to face the death without becoming unconscious. There are techniques in Tibet whereby a beating drum keeps a person awake as far as possible to help them dye with awareness. Every one knows that Socrates was poisoned. What was interesting about his death was the fact he was up and walking after he drunk his poison. His disciples were worried. They requested Socrates to lie down and take it easy. Socrates told them that he did not want to miss the opportunity. He wanted to be awake and aware as far as possible. He kept describing his feelings until his speech gave up. So being aware is one key to the art of dying.

The other part is what Krishna has touched in Gita as follows:

Antkaale ca maameva smaranmuktvaa kalevaram Yah. prayaati sa madbhaavam^ yaati naastyatra sam^s'ayah. (8..5) yam^ yam^ vaapi smaranbhaavam^ tyajatyante kalevaram tam^ tamevaiti kaunteya sadaa tadbhaavabhaavitah. (8..6)And he who at the time of death, meditating on Me alone, goes forth, leaving the body attains My Being; there is no daoubt about this. Remembering whatever object, at the time of end, he leaves the body, that alone is reached by him, O son of Kunti, (because) of his constant thought of that subject.

Again Krishna describes these two paths. It is clear that you have to be awake to be able to meditate on Krishna or have any meaningful that may affect your life when you start your journey again. One thing worth focusing on is the emphasis that is on the what bhava (thoughts or wishes) a person has at the time of death.

Many people believe that whatever they do in their life does not matter as long as they remember Rama or Krishna at the time of their death. They seem not to understand the shloka very well. Krishna has emphasized the point that the bhava (thoughts and wishes) at the end of life is important but this is mostly the bhava that the person has had all his life. A person has been having thoughts to kill his wife all his life will most likely have the same thought at the end of his life. A person that has been praying all his life to Rama or Guru Nanak will most likely have thoughts corresponding to that.

Another Concept we use for this last moment of life is the concept of qŸæ ((Path or recitations), a Gita path or a Ramayan path. Path is not the same as reading or studying a book. You keep reading the verses aloud. It is not important to understand the meaning of the verses. A certain state of existence of the persons is needed, there is a certain trust, shraddha that goes along with this path (qŸæ)). The whole scenario produces an atmosphere and a milieu where the departing soul can find solace and find it easier to have the right kind of thoughts or bhava that we described.

After working on the art of dying Hindus tried to understand what happens immediately after the death of a being. The first thing that most of the souls comes across is the utter shock and disbelief. It does not want to believe that the body is dead. The Etheric body is still around for approximately 12 days. So, naturally, there is emphasis on the fact that through rituals and the Antyesti rites, the message is conveyed to the soul that this journey of life is over and the soul should head for his next journey. The body is cremated, the fire is offered by near and dear. The burning of the body gives a clue to the soul and it starts believing about the death of the body. The mantras of the Antyesti Samskaras have messages to the soul about what it should be doing and how to go about further on. The whole prakriya (the process) takes 11-13 days.

Since a Hindu consecrates his entire life through the performance of various sacraments at suitable stages, at his death, his survivors consecrate the event by death rites for his future good and spiritual felicity. Though performed after a man's death, this sacrament is no less important, because for a Hindu, the value of the next world is higher than that of the present.

It is customary to drop Ganga-water and Tulasi leaves into the mouth of the dying person. The body is carried on a bier by the nearest relatives and friends of the deceased. It is then either cremated or buried according to the custom of the community. If cremated, the ashes and the bones are later on collected and immersed in the sacred waters of the nearest river. If buried, a mound is raised over the remains as a mark of remembrance Shraddha or offering to the dead also forms an important item of the last rites. It is performed on the eleventh or the thirteenth day after death and consists of Homa, Pindapradhana (obsequial offering of rice balls) and feeding the Brahmanas.